It feels good to recognise that the number of restrictions easing from 18 October has been a response to the community’s good behaviour in Melbourne and Brunswick. We are expecting these limitations to ease even more because we have achieved the goal of having 5 cases on average in the past 14 days. This means that new routes for those of us who enjoy long runs in the city are now available!
In this article, you will find the current valid restrictions and new routes for you to feel confident exercising in Brunswick and our neighbouring suburbs (you can always check on our previous post to find more routes).
Restrictions
Feel free to grab your shoes because exercising outdoors is still allowed. These are the details:
- You can now travel up to 25 km from your home or permitted workplace within metropolitan Melbourne. Travel to regional Victoria is still only allowed for permitted purposes even if this is within 25 kms. This means you cannot travel into regional Victoria for exercise or recreation. Click here to find out how far is 25km from your home.
- You can leave home for any period of time to exercise or see friends and family outdoors. There are no limits on the number of times you can leave home.
- You can exercise in a group of up to ten people from a maximum of two households outdoors in a public place (personal training is limited to two people plus the trainer). This replaces the limit of five people from a maximum of two households.
- If you are exercising or socialising with others, you should keep at least 1.5 metres distance between you.
We have summarised and captured the most important aspects of the regulation from a runner’s perspective. Please stay updated and read the full list of restrictions at the Department of Health and Human Services and Victoria’s Government COVID’s websites.
Mask or no mask while I run?
Thinking of wearing a mask while running sounds like a bad idea. Similarly to the previous round of restrictions, the government says that if you are doing exercise or physical activity where you are out of breath or puffing, such as jogging or running, you do not need to wear a face mask. You do have to carry a face mask with you so you can wear it before or after exercising unless you have a lawful exception.
The Department of Health and Human Services says that you could incur a fine if you don’t carry a face mask, so always bring one with you even if you’re not wearing it while running. You can read more details about face coverings here.
Restrictions-friendly routes in Brunswick
Remember that now you can run as long as you want (within 25kms) because you’re allowed to leave home for any period of time. Nevertheless, if you wish to know how far you can and how long it will take you based on your pace, check out the “determine the distance you can run” tables shown in our previous post.
With our 5km bubble expanded, I have been exploring new routes this week and I would like to share them with you.
Moonee Ponds Creek – Royal Park – Prinny – Train lines
Total distance: 16.31kms – Strava link.
I started running without a route in mind and this is where it took me. You can start this route from any point in Brunswick.
Start by running towards the west to catch the Moonee Ponds Creek, then go follow this trail towards the south, there will be a point in which you will be able to head east via the Capital City Trail (it can be tricky if you haven’t done it before but I’m sharing the link for you to follow the exact route). Heading east means running through Royal Park all the way to Prinny! I chose to make a clockwise loop and then head back north via the bike lane that runs parallel to the train lines (again, check the link to the route to make sure you don’t get lost).
Train lines – Capital City Trail
Total distance: 17kms – Strava link
I really enjoyed this route because of how much you change scenarios and appreciate Melbourne’s varied urban infrastructure. Brunswick’s graffitis, gumtrees in Royal Park, and huge city bypasses are part of this route’s scenery.
You can start by heading south via the bike lane that runs down along the train lines. After Park street, you can catch the Capital City Trail and head south as far as the Docklands.
If you choose to do so, you can keep going and the trail will take you to the east until you’re running along the Yarra (basically following the Capital City Trail). I chose to head back to Brunny after 8.5km to complete a 17kms total run.
Merri – Capital City Trail
Total distance: 15kms – Strava link
This route is fabulous. It’s basically running along the Merri Creek towards the south. The Merri Creek Trail shares a segment with the Capital City Trail. Similar to the route mentioned above, you can run as far as you want or can. In my case, I ran 7.5kms south to then head back north for my second half and complete a total of 15kms. It is important to mention that while going south you can feel how the elevation decreases while the opposite is true when you’re hedging back north, so make sure you save some energies for your way back north!
As rules keep easing, we will be sharing more routes that runners from Brunswick can enjoy, so stay tuned for more posts!
